Avetoku Satharo
Avetoku Satharo Avetoku Satharo was an Osdarthian fighter ace who was the single most skilled fighter pilot in WW2 and the War of Independence, achieving 370 confirmed kills in WW2 and 110 confirmed kills in the War of Independence. He is considered a national hero of Osdarth. He was the top flying ace of all time, accumulating a total of 480 confirmed kills in the air. During both wars he was nicknamed "King of the Sky" or "Sky King". Out of respect for Satharo and to humour the man's nickname, Emperor Adrion I once bowed to Satharo. He was awarded the Flaming Sword for his service in WW2. He was an Orthodox Christian. Many details exist about Satharo's early life, because he wrote an autobiography in 1947. Satharo was born to a lower-class urban family, and after his father died in the Battle of Saratov in WW1, he was taken in by the wealthy Ratesho Akeju which he was distantly related to, who gave him an education, taught him how to ride horses and, more importantly, fly aeroplanes. He was furious at the Nesarian Empire's defeat in WW1 and became swept up in the Nesarian Fascist movement. At the outbreak of WW2, he joined the Imperial Air Force, guessing correctly that the Nesarian Empire would soon get involved. Satharo quickly developed a reputation as an unmatched pilot, suffering a defeat in the air in WW2 only once in 1944 when he was ambushed by five Russian planes. He survived the crash with minimal injuries, and got back in the air almost immediately. He is credited with almost single-handedly preventing the USA from dropping nuclear bombs on the Nesarian Empire, shooting down two B-52s carrying atomic bombs, which luckily did not detonate as the bombers crashed (the USA made no further attempts after that). In the War of Independence, the USSR also attempted to drop a nuclear bomb on the Nesarian Empire once, however Satharo was not the one to shoot down that bomber. There is another event where Satharo crashed, in 1952, although it is not considered an air defeat because it he was not shot down and he deliberately crashed the plane. In the War of Independence, Satharo was part of the fighter force attempting to maintain air superiority over the Battle of Brakovan, and he used up more fuel than he anticipated due to an engine fault, leaving him with not enough fuel to return to base and fill up. Running on fumes, he sent his plane into a dive and ejected, sending it crashing into a Soviet tank which was destroyed. He managed to return to friendly territory safely. He was, however, reprimanded quite severely for destroying a plane, which were in very short supply in 1952. His third crash, again in 1952, was to be his last - he was surprised during one sleep-deprived night patrol by a large formation of Russian fighters, which shot him down, and he died in the crash. There was a massive outpouring of grief from the public, who had lost their hero. Satharo is hailed as a hero across the Empire, not just in Osdarth, for playing a massive part in the defence of the Empire and in winning its freedom. Anti-fascists and liberals often criticise him for his fascist beliefs, however most of the population is at least tolerant towards fascism, and he has few critics. Quotes "They say that if God had wanted us to fly, they would have given us wings. That is untrue. God gave us the best brains on the planet so that we could make a flying machine." (In an interview with a journalist)